TX BIOS:  Eugene McCrohan
   Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress.
   
   Washington, 1994.
   
   Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only.
   
   This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate.
   
   For more information about this text and this American Memory
   collection, refer to accompanying matter.
   
   U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore
   Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of
   Congress.Copyright status not determined.
   
   00011
   
   Range-Lore
   
   Ruby Mosely
   
   San Angelo, Texas.
   
   Page one
   
   RANGE-LORE
   
   Mr. Eugene McCrohan came from Ireland to Chicago in the early 40's and
   his wife Mrs. Isaballe Wilson McCrohan came from Scotland. They
   pioneered through all the states from Illinois to New Mexico, escaping
   wild animals and depredating Indians, as New Mexico seemed the
   wildest, that was the chosen place for settlement. The family
   increased several in number, Mr. Dave McCrohan was one of the younger
   children.
   
   "I was only two years old when we moved to Texas and settled in the
   Concho Country but I have a good recollection of the men quarrying
   rock to build Old Fort Concho", says Mr. Dave McCrohan of San Angelo,
   Texas. We located just below the old Butterfield mail station.
   
     NOTE: C.12 - 2/11/41 - Texas
     
   00022When the fort was completed and the soldiers were stationed in
   the fort my father furnished them with milk from his dairy. There were
   a number of soldiers' families living near here when I came. The
   permanent families consisted of Frank Tankersley, Jim DeLong and the
   [Burltson?] family. Frank Tankersley came three years before I did.
   
   "There was no towns , with the exception of country [DEL: stories
   :DEL] stores, closer than San Antonio. Menard, and Fort McKavett had a
   Government Store, the same as Fort Concho. There was no San Angelo in
   those days but a little later W. F. Veck put up a saloon in a big tent
   where San Angelo is today. Ben Ficklin town did not exist, it was a
   farm worked and plowed by Ben. There were no schools nearer than San
   Antonio. So you can imagine what ignorance and hardships existed in
   those pioneering days.
   
   "Indians were still depredating this Concho area when we moved here ,
   so we built a log house with a dugout beneath it to sleep in for
   protection from the redskins which made several attacks. When they
   came the first one that saw them shouted, 'The Indians are coming!' We
   ran for the dugout as you have seen wild animals run at the sight of a
   gun or dog. Father always got the gun and when it was fired they made
   their get-a-way. If father was gone when the attack was made mother
   mustered the gun, to make believe durable protection, then father
   always found us safe and secure on his return.
   
   "I remember one time my father was alone during one of the raids, he
   shot several times and killed one Indian and probably others . The old
   custom of theirs was to take the 00033dead with them. I guess they
   wanted to save the scalp. They did not get the horses this time.
   
   "The Indians made another attack, their motive was always to get the
   horses. This time no damage was done except killing our dogs. One dog
   had two arrows through his stomach, while the other was struck by one
   arrow. We boys grieved over this as much as if it had been the horses.
   
   "The Indians really put one by us one night. My father and Mr. Jerry
   Schade tied our horses just as thick as they could stick around in a
   circle and made their bed in this circle. They told my brother and me
   to go up on the hill to sleep. That night the Indians came, got every
   dad- blasted one of our horses, and put a jackass in the stockades.
   Not one of us woke up. This was really a neat job, you don't know how
   we felt that morning when we were awakened by the braying of the
   donkey.
   
   "There were lots of little mustang ponies but they weren't worth
   nothing, so we never cotched them. Horse traders came through the
   country once in a while, let's see, we bought old Jerry, Blue Dog,
   Diamond and old Grey, that's about as many horses as we kept as long
   as Indians were raidin'. We only had about thirty or forty sections of
   land leased from the government and didn't need many horses.
   
   "One time a man was coming to our ranch and got a little drunk on his
   way. The Indians killed him, drank the remainder of his whisky and
   placed the bottle on his breast after taking his scalp. The soldiers
   went out but didn't catch the Indians. The last hostile Indians were
   seen in about 1875. The Indians 00044rated according to the number of
   scalps they collected. The chief always had more than the others.
   
   "Carrol McKinsey was the best commander the fort ever had. He
   commanded in 1872 and sent four or five hundred Indians out on
   reservations; he got most of them from Yellow House Canyon, a canyon
   between here and New Mexico.
   
   "In the late seventies we had negro soldiers here; they didn't do no
   good, the Indians called them buffalo soldiers. The citizens and negro
   soldiers had a few little scrapes, one or two negroes were killed but
   no whites.
   
   "Oh yes, I have killed lots of buffaloes, big and little. Whenever we
   needed meat we killed one, just as you would kill a rabbit, chicken,
   hog or any other animal food, except the buffaloes were a lot larger
   and they were not harmful to man. I guess we would have plenty of them
   here today if the hunters had not come in and killed them for their
   hides.
   
   "I've been up the trail many, many times, I guess my longest trip was
   from here to Leavenworth, Kansas. Me and my two brothers and eight or
   nine cowboys would take from twenty-five to thirty thousand head of
   cattle each trip. We would rig up our chuck wagon with supplies to
   last as long as possible. We always started the cook on ahead so that
   he could have our food prepared by the time we got there, then no time
   would be lost. He would have to choose a place to camp where there was
   plenty of grass and water so our cattle might graze as we ate. The
   same procedure was followed throughout the journey then we usually
   covered ten or twelve miles each day. If the herd got restless we
   would always sing to quiet them; a stampede 00055was often prevented
   by the singing cowboy. When we camped for the night we each had our
   duties to preform. Some were to hobble horses while others bedded the
   cattle, there were guards for the night, three alternating their duty.
   If trouble came, such as a stampede, wild animals or storm, every one
   reported to duty except the cook. Many cattle were often lost during
   the disturbance. One time a little wind and cool rain came up which
   resulted in a stampede. I was in the lead and gave my horse the reins
   to do his stuff; he stumbled in a hole which sent me over his head to
   the ground, I looked up, saw the cattle coming. I disrobed my slicker,
   began shaking and whirling it into the air; this turned the cattle,
   and was all that saved me and my horse from being stamped into the
   earth.
   
   "When going up the trail it was customary to give a beef to the owner
   if you crossed his property, we always did this and made friends all
   the way up. This was pretty nice on the way back we were often invited
   to eat some of that beef and drink black coffee. People were so few in
   those days they didn't forget you.
   
   "I really had a time with the wildest horse I ever rode. It took me
   five years to ride old Blue Dog. He was really mean but I rode him
   twenty-five years and I never rode him a time that he didn't buck. He
   pitched and bucked until he died; sometimes I wonder if he didn't
   pitch a little afterward.
   
   "We went back to New Mexico in 1885; we liked that country, the wooded
   hills and big ranches, but could not stand the superiors being of
   Mexican people. In fact the whole business was controlled by Mexicans,
   so we moved back in 1896. There was 00066quite a change in this
   country during those few years I was away.
   
   "I know most of the old timers, good or bad, we didn't have such a
   distinct social line as the society people of today, we were all just
   plain common folks.
   
   "Yes, I knew Old Booger Red, he was one of the ugliest guys I ever saw
   but lots of fun. I have seen him ride the wildest bronchos that ever
   was mounted. My brother brought a wild horse out of the mountains in
   New Mexico; he was as swift as lightning. Old Booger Red rode him at
   the Fair. Me and my family being interested in the horse and knowing
   Booger, dressed up, got in our new hack and went to the Fair as a big
   dog in a little wagon, style. Just as we drove up we saw Old Booger
   Red riding that New Mexico horse without a bridle, boy , he was just a
   bucking, pitching, rearing and pawing at the sun and over the fence he
   came tumbling and [DEL: cav orting :DEL] cavorting right in front of
   us. Our horse got scared, reared up and fell back on our new hack and
   killed himself and it scared the very devil out of my family, but none
   of us got hurt. Booger said, 'Well I guess I'm so ugly I scared the
   horse to death'. The Fair Committee wanted to pay me $60.00 for my
   horse but I wouldn't accept it because I thought my horse was worth
   $100.00 and I rather have nothing than to have my horse valued at
   $60.00.
   
   "I know some of the so- called outlaws; Dave Adkins killed a man, then
   deserted his family to escape punishment. This all led him to train
   robbing which was the most popular robbing during that age. 00077Tom
   and Sam Ketchum were train robbers and outlaws and would get hungry
   while on a hide out, and slip up to a sheep camp to get food. Once we
   were all at a picnic and some one came and told the Ketchum girl that
   Tom had been shot; this didn't seem to worry her, after the picnic was
   over she stayed for the dance that night. It was told around that Tom
   had been captured and hanged in New Mexico, but I don't agree with
   them. They sent for his brother to identify the body and hanged a
   dummy, pulled his head off as the trap fell, and refused to let anyone
   see him. [Roue?] Shields said he saw the Governor of New Mexico and
   Tom back at Tom's old place, Knickerbocker, looking for his hidden
   money. I have seen men that said he lived in Old Mexico long after the
   hanging. These Ketchum boys worked on our ranch two years and made
   good dependable ranch hands at the time.
   
   "Dick Duncan, another Knickerbocker product, robbed an old man and
   woman, then killed them and threw them in the Rio Grande River. He
   scouted around for awhile, doing several other law breaking acts which
   resulted in a hanging at Kerrville."

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